With the country's most powerful sports body crying for help, as it relates to sending a 24-member team to the Olympics, one of The Bahamas' leading corporate citizens came to their aid with a hefty donation.
Telecommunications giant BTC has provided a $100,000 sponsorship to the Bahamas Olympic Committee (BOC) to help defray the costs of this year's OIympic team. It was just over a month ago, when BOC Secretary General Romell 'Fish' Knowles revealed that their organization was in dire need of over $300,000 to fund this year's Olympic team. Well, they got a huge chunk yesterday, and can now go ahead with quite a few plans to get Team Bahamas to London. The 2012 Summer Olympic Games are set to commence Friday July 27 in London, England, and will run through Sunday, August 12.
"The reality is that the Olympic Games will cost us just under $400,000, so $100,000 will go a long way in lowering those expenses," said Knowles yesterday. "We are very appreciative of what BTC has done. What this does for us, is that now we can pay for some of the expenses that will be incurred with the training camp that will take place in London. We're not home yet, but this contribution today takes a lot of pressure off of us. It's a great relief to us in the Bahamas Olympic Committee and our team. The Olympic Games is the largest and biggest event in sports and I'm so elated that BTC recognizes that. I only wish that other corporate citizens, particularly government entities, will recognize that as well."
A number of Olympic
athletes will leave for the training camp in West Sussex, England, this week. Others will travel over the weekend and the remainder will depart on Monday. As for the $100,000 donation, BTC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Geoff Houston said that they looked at it as their corporate and social responsibility and will continue to contribute toward the youth development of this country in a meaningful and positive way.
"We are delighted to present a check for $100,000 to the Bahamas Olympic Committee for The Bahamas' participation in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London," said Houston. "Many of the athletes who have trained for this event have dreamed about being in the Olympics since childhood. They have spent years training physically and emotionally for what will be, for many, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete against the world's best in their sport.
"We at BTC want to ensure that the entire team, including coaches and medical personnel, have every advantage available so they are able to focus on bringing home the gold. Beyond performance, we want to applaud everyone involved for the team spirit, effort, discipline and determination to make it to this level. What we have been doing over the past 12-15 months is really try to cement our partnership with sports in the country. For sports fans like me and the rest of us here at BTC, this isn't really a difficult decision. This is something that we enjoy doing. This is the continuation of a major thing for us here at BTC. We wish the Olympic team the best and we are sure that they are going to give their best effort in London. We congratulate the team and wish everyone a healthy and successful Olympics."
BTC's corporate sponsorship of the BOC and Team Bahamas doesn't cease with the $100,000 donation toward the Olympic team. According to Houston, they intend to be a visible partner straight through until the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, offering as much as $20,000 per year for the next four years toward Olympic development.
"Our four-year partnership with BTC from now until the Brazil Olympics in 2016 makes BTC our top local sponsor in the Olympic movement, and so we are extremely appreciative of BTC's corporate and social responsibility in developing and molding young lives through sports," said Knowles.
BOC President Wellington Miller concurred:
"This is what can happen when two forward (thinking) people get together and have a constructive conversation. It can advance an important idea and advance an organization. I am speaking about our secretary general Romell Knowles and BTC Vice President of Marketing Marlon Johnson. This kind of gift from a corporate citizen makes it so much easier for the Bahamas Olympic Committee to do the proper planning for its athletes in national interest. We in the BOC are extremely proud and on behalf of all Bahamian Olympians, we thank BTC and look forward to both our organizations reaping great benefits from this tremendous gift."
Also yesterday, BTC was presented with a trophy from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recognizing the telecommunications company for its contribution to "sports and sustainable development." Also, BTC pledged to spearhead a national campaign with focus on boosting team spirit and support for Team Bahamas for the Olympic Games.
"We are launching a three-week program to get Bahamians excited about supporting our team," explained Jerome Sawyer, BTC Senior Manager of Public Relations. "In connection with that, we will have a wide range of promotions. During the Olympics, we will have special rates for 'Talk It Up' so people can call internationally for extremely low rates. We'll be running ads for special promotions, keeping our facebook page lively and engaging the public in every way we can to support Team Bahamas."
As a special promotion, team managers will receive new Samsung phones, and Cable & Wireless Communications in London will host a special reception for The Bahamas' team, its officials and dignitaries.
"BTC's commitment to youth development, education and sports is unwavering," said Sawyer.
During the past year, BTC has donated $130,000 to the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) in support of CARIFTA, the Olympic Trials, and most recently, The Bahamas' team that traveled to the International Association of Athletic Federations' (IAAF) World Junior Championships in Barcelona, Spain, and now, they are providing another $100,000 for The Bahamas' 24-member Olympic team.

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